Indonesia gets a new president; Only other candidate quits.
A win for democracy as Joko Widodo becomes Indonesia's president elect. The Indonesian Electoral Commission has now confirmed that the Jakarta Governor and former small-scale businessman, Joko Widodo will be Indonesia’s next president. He will be sworn in on 20 th October. The announcement came as the only other candidate, former Suharto army general, Prabowo Subianto, dramatically quit only hours before the formal election result was announced. Despite the withdrawal of Prabowo, in choosing Joko Widodo (or ‘Jokowi’…
Indonesia's likely presidential win good for democracy...for now.
Ross B. Taylor The Indonesian Electoral Commission will, within the next few weeks, confirm that the Jakarta Governor and former small-scale businessman, Joko Widodo will be Indonesia’s next president. He will then be sworn in on 20 th October. In choosing Joko Widodo, or ‘Jokowi’ as he is known, with a probable result of 52%-48%, Indonesians will have chosen a continuance of true democracy for their country of 240 million people, and resisted the temptation to revert to a more authoritarian rule under former Suharto General, Probow…
Indonesia's presidency, and democracy, on a knife edge
Ross B. Taylor On Wednesday Indonesian's will democratically elect a new president as the incumbent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, ( SBY ) completes his final term. Until a few weeks ago, the most likely successor was tipped to be a small-scale businessman from Java, turned governor of Jakarta , Joko Widodo. ‘Jokowi’ as he is affectionately known, is seen as a moderate and whilst tipped to be far more domestically focused than his predecessor - who has held great affection for Australia - is considered a candidate that Australia coul…
Abbott's second chance to get Indonesia relationship back to 'normal'
Ross B. Taylor Prime Minister Tony Abbott threw away his ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card when he decided not to accept an invitation earlier this month to meet Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ( SBY ) in Bali. This was a huge lost opportunity for our PM as the Indonesian president sought a face-saving way of mending the strained relations between his country and Australia before he leaves office in the next few months. Now Mr Abbott will need to travel to Jakarta in an effort to repair the bi-lateral relationship fol…
Could Bali's 'Nyepi' be our Good Friday?
West Australian’s love Bali with its beaches, cafes, night clubs, adventure parks and of course, Bintang beer. But once a year our paradise island comes to a crashing, or should I say silent, halt as this predominately Hindu island celebrates Nyepi, a day of ‘stillness’ and ‘self-reflection’. That might be fine for the Balinese, but for us Aussies it also means all cafes and pubs are closed, all beaches are shut - and patrolled by security guards to ensure no swimming or beach sitting takes place - and all supermarkets, and even convenie…
Cancer is a word; Not a sentence......
A once only opportunity, this year! "Living Simply with Cancer" with Ross & Kathy Taylor TUESDAY 6TH MAY 2014 AT 6PM Ross Taylor is the author of several bestselling books including "Living Simply With Cancer" and " Creating Health... Yourself". A cancer survivor himself (Ross has recovered from an aggressive secondary melanoma), he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2013 for his significant services to the Australian community, including cancer supp…
At last a bit of civility comes to our crass nation..Knights and Dames sounds superb!!
The PM has made a "courageous" decision (as Sir Humphrey would say to his then PM) in reintroducing the awards of Knights and Dames, and us riff-raff need to support him to fully embrace Australia's responsibility and duty to the Queen of England. So here are my suggestions as to how we can support Mr Abbott in redefining Australia's future: 1 ... . Replace "Australia Day" (a boring day anyway where bogans wave Aussie flags and sing preposterous ditties like "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oy, Oy, Oy" …
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